Open cut coal mines mobilise heavy metals in mine drainage water...

Open cut coal mines mobilise heavy metals in mine drainage water (probably even worse in leachate from spoil heaps) - normally this would be reduced in volume and retained on site somehow).

The current floods have made river disposal with high levels of dilution a requested way of unflooding their pits.

T'would be better to leave the metals underground in deep coal seams in the first place.

http://www.gabpg.org.au/media-release-from-drew-hutton
http://lockthegate.org.au/news/display/2057

and remember that Tarong Power is planning a large open cut mine starting several hundred metres south of the Cougar plant site and running back for kilometres towards Nanango.